\u201cI am angry that now that I am pregnant and do not want to be, the government is interfering in my private matters and blocking me from having an abortion,\u201d she said in a statement announcing the lawsuit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A Kentucky woman who is eight weeks pregnant filed a lawsuit Friday challenging the state\u2019s near-total ban on abortion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The suit alleges that Kentucky\u2019s abortion laws violate the state Constitution and are causing irreparable harm to the plaintiff, identified only as Jane Doe, and others like her. It asks the court to permanently block the state from enforcing those laws.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The suit also seeks class-action status <\/strong>to represent all people in Kentucky who are pregnant and want an in-state abortion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI am angry that now that I am pregnant and do not want to be, the government is interfering in my private matters and blocking me from having an abortion,\u201d Doe said in a statement announcing the lawsuit. \u201cThis is my decision \u2014 not the government\u2019s or any other person\u2019s.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n The lawsuit comes on the heels of another filed by a pregnant woman who has been unable to obtain an abortion in Texas. On Thursday,\u2002a Texas judge granted an emergency order<\/a> in that case, allowing the woman, whose fetus has a fatal diagnosis, to get an abortion in the state.<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n The cases are among the first of their kind \u2014 very few pregnant women have filed lawsuits challenging state restrictions on their ability to seek abortions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Planned Parenthood is also a plaintiff in the Kentucky lawsuit, and both are represented by attorneys from the American Civil Liberties Union, Planned Parenthood Federation of America and two private law firms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The suit targets two Kentucky laws enacted after the Supreme Court\u2019s Dobbs decision, which last year overturned the right to abortion established by Roe v. Wade. The first law prohibits seeking or administering an abortion in almost all instances. Under the second, it is a felony for doctors in Kentucky to perform an abortion after the sixth week of pregnancy except to <\/strong>prevent the death or \u201csubstantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function\u201d of the pregnant woman. There are no exceptions for rape, incest or a fatal fetal condition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Amber Duke, executive director of the ACLU of Kentucky, said at a news conference Friday that the bans have left \u201cthousands of Kentuckians to manage life-altering consequences and serious health risks over the past year.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI am bringing this lawsuit because I firmly believe that everyone should have the ability to make their own decisions about their pregnancies,\u201d Doe said in her statement. \u201cI hope this case will restore abortion access in Kentucky, if not for me then for the countless people in the future who deserve the autonomy to decide what is best for themselves and their families.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The lawsuit alleges that the inability to access abortion is harming Doe and others who want to terminate their pregnancies. Such women, it says, \u201care being or will be forced to suffer the life-altering physical, emotional, economic, and family consequences of unexpected pregnancy and childbirth.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “These consequences can be particularly acute for patients who are pregnant as a result of rape, experiencing domestic violence, or facing fetal diagnoses incompatible with sustained life after birth,\u201d the lawsuit continues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It also argues that women experiencing pregnancy complications that might impair their health but which don’t qualify for abortions under state law could suffer serious, potentially lifelong health consequences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cEven those whose dire situations may technically qualify for one or both of the Bans\u2019 varying emergency exceptions may still be refused care out of hospitals\u2019 or providers\u2019 fears of being held criminally liable,\u201d the lawsuit adds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n